Africa 2014

Stories and Pictures from Africa……..

I took a couple of boxes of your beautiful toys to Kenya with me last month, and I just wanted to email you and thank you. We distributed them in a few different places: to a school in Seriolipi for the schoolmaster to give outas rewards for best performance and most improvement, to an orphanage in Nairobi, and to school children in Archers Post. We couldn’t fit all of the toys in our luggage, so we also brought a few to the Child Crisis Center in Mesa, AZ where my sister volunteers. The following pictures and stories are from Archers Post (because that was the only time we were actually able to be there when the children received the toys).

The little boy in the first photo (with the blue shirt and green sleeves) was one of my favorites. His name is Eric and he’s very shy. I could only get him to come up to me if I had some game to play, so the car really helped him warm up to us. As you can see from the picture, his face totally lit up when he saw the car and got to play with it.

When they got their cars, several of the kids ran up to show us and told us we should take pictures of them with their cars. It was so cute!

Overall, the kids loved it. Many of these kids have no earthy possession beyond the clothes on their back and, if they’re lucky, one other outfits for Sundays. Actually getting to own a toy is a really big deal for them. They (and I) are so grateful!

The Happy Factory

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At a cost of $.50 cents to make each toy, for just a small donation, you can make a difference in a child's life making it possible for them to receive a hand-crafted wooden toy, made with loving care by our volunteers.

The Happy Factory is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose sole mission is to give the children of the world a small high quality wooden toy, so every child has at least one toy. We are made up of volunteers, have no payroll, and none of the Board of Directors are paid, so 100% of every dollar is used in the production of our toys.